Troy pastor probed for misappropriating $400,000

The pastor of St. Thomas More Parish in Troy has been temporarily removed from his position after an audit conducted by the Archdiocese of Detroit uncovered “questionable” financial transactions involving more than $400,000 over the past six years, the Archdiocese said Tuesday night.

The Rev. Edward Belczak, 67, is also under police investigation for inflating his salary and paying a ghost employee, the Archdiocese said in a news release. He is banned from functioning as the parish pastor effective Jan. 22 and will not be allowed to remain in the parish residence until an administrative review process is completed, the Archdiocese said in a news release.

He is allowed to continue his public ministry as a priest while the review is pending.

“The Troy Police Department is currently conducting its own investigation,” the archdiocese said in the statement. “The archdiocese has fully cooperated with civil authorities in this case and will continue to do so.”

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According to the news release, Belczak is alleged to have committed a number of misappropriations and mismanaged parish funds. Those include:

* Receiving excessive compensation totalling $92,000

* Directing $16,000 to himself that should have been posted to parish accounts

* Paying a ghost employee $240,000 over the past six years with benefits

* Authorizing a long-term disability policy for one employee worth $20,000 while not providing similar benefits for other parish staff members

* Allowing the operation of St. Thomas More Travel Group as a parish-related activity while failing to record its financial transactions

* Accepting $25,000 as residual commission checks from the travel group without depositing or recording them

* Failing to deposit or record money received through Mother’s Day and Father’s Day special collections, and failing to monitor $10,000 found in an employee’s desk.

Belczak was educated at Sacred Heart Seminary in Detroit and St. John’s Provincial Seminary in Plymouth. He was ordained Sept. 3, 1972.

He previously served as associate pastor for National Shrine of the Little Flower Parish in Royal Oak from 1972 to 1975; co-pastor at National Shrine of the Little Flower Parish from 1975 to 1980; associate pastor at Our Lady of Sorrow Parish in Farmington from 1980 to 1984; and was named pastor at St. Thomas More in 1984.

Monsignor John Zenz, episcopal vicar of the Northwest Region and pastor of Holy Name Parish in Birmingham has been named administrator at St. Thomas More Parish while Belczak is on leave.